what religion is sex magick used in?

Question

and how does it work?

Answer 1

Well, it was the central mystery of Wicca, before the Craft got wattered down for mass consumption. Some Wiccan couples still do practice this in private, and it is one of the most sacred and beautiful experiences one can have. In Wicca, it is called the Great Rite, and is discussed in the writings of Janet and Stewart Farrar. The Priest takes on the persona of the God, and the Priestess takes on the persona of the Goddess, and then they make love. Most covens do this symbolically, by placing the Athame into the challice -- though some have, appearantly, forgotten what that act is symbolic of.

But Wicca gets this from Thelema, the Magick/Philosophy/Religion of Aleister Crowley. Crowley did practice sex magick frequently, with men as well as women, and also with himself (Magickal Masturbation). We know this because he wrote about it in great detail in his diaries.

Sex magick basically uses sexual arousal as a means of raising energy, and altering your state of consciousness. This energy can then be directed towards your intent, to manifest your desires as in other forms of Magick. Also, the ecstatic states of sexual arousal can lead to trance states, that make the mind a ready vessal for invoking a God or spirit. I can think of no better way to commune with a deity than to make love to, or as, that deity.

This is a powerful and effective form of Magick, and it is sad that more Pagans do not explore it. Some of us still seem to be holding on to baggage and hangups from other religions, perhaps.

Answer 2

My take on sex magick is not a specific.. The purpose from my take of sex magick is 2 individuals that both practice magick and the purpose of the act is the energy it builds so if the 2 people are working for the same goal, the actions(sex) build up the energy, the reason this is a hard magick is because both people have to release at the same time to release the energy built up.... But with the right person it is alot of fun and it has immense energy

Answer 3

Interesting, I'm not sure, and it seems there are some good answers up there. I think it originated with the Kama Sutra in India, but it was certainly not called "Sex Magick." The first I came across it was people studying a version of the Qabala (Jewish Mysticism that's found also in Christianity and other Occult Sciences)... It's possible it made it's way to the "west" during the 19th century with Blavatsky et al... They brought a lot of techniques from the East to the West with their different occult groups.

Answer 4

In an attempt to answer the
first part of your question,
there are several religous
systems that either can have
or actually do include the
practice of conjugal sexual
relations as a part of their
Ceremonies:

Hindu Tantra (as opposed to
Tibetian Tantra...which does not).

The Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)
- although this is one of their
higher degree levels, 9th I think.

Wicca (qualified by the 'sub-
section' of Wicca...some Wiccan
Tradtions are rather "up front"
about their 3rd Degree involving
sexual ritual, while others don't
include sex at all, except in the
most symbolic way).

Ceremony involving conjugal sexual
relations between participants
was apparently practiced in Old
Europe for some time (if only
by certain rather secretive societies
-- see Flowers material below).

As to the second part of your question:
There are quite a few references on
this on the open market. Ironically
(?) "sex sells" whatever its form.
Therefore I'm not going to address it
here.

Answer 5

The term Sex Magick was first coined by the British magician Aleister Crowley, and it is a defined practice of the religion he founded called Thelema. Its roots come from the Tantric systems of India but it is also infused with a lot of Qaballistic and Christian symbolism. Crowley's main source for a lot of this seems to be a 19th century volume called 'Magical Sexualis' by Paschal Beverly Randolph. Thelemic structure and particularly Crowley's magickal order: Ordo Templi Orientis, informs many of the modern rites of Wicca, the phrase "Do what thou wilt" was originally used by Crowley in the 20th century. Crowley and Wicca's modern founder: Gerald Gardner, were colleagues and many historians argue that Crowley wrote many of the materials used by Gardner. The Third Degree of Gardnerian Wicca is also referred to as 'sex magick' but of course it is reserved for the highest initiates due to the sensitive and intimate nature of such a practice.

Answer 6

Sex magic and ritual has been a part of mysticism, magick, and religion from the beginning to time--although they became marginalized at some point. Nowadays, it is conflated with "Tantra" and certain forms of Neopaganism, ceremonial magick, and New Age practices. However,Tantra is an umbrella term for a belief system in Hinduism and Buddhism (modern-day cultural Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism are Tantric --in this sense, its got nothing to do with sex or sex magick). The Kama Sutra is not a book about sex magic or ritual sex; it is a book about "kama shastra", the discipline of lust --that is, it is an ancient sex technique manual, and that's it.

In the ancient world in some cultures, the king would have ritual sex with a temple priestess (and also men would go to certain temples to have sex with the priestesses there) as a kind of sacrament enacting the union of the god and goddess(This was called hieros gamos--meaning sacred marriage). This rite continued in some forms of paganism--some which have been reinvented in modern Wicca and witchcraft and magickal movements. Sex magick and sex rites are still practiced in certain esoteric forms of Tantric yogic disciplines (both in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and other Asian paths) and in some forms of ceremonial magick. Crowley's sex magick was inspired by Asian Tantric sex and kama shastra concepts but what he presented was his own interpretation of them.

Two basic ideas of sex magick are to regard your partner (and yourself) as a deity and to (through meditative and yogic disciplines) align and integrate centers of spiritual energy up through levels of consciousness until you achieve a certain kind of bliss state that suggests union with the divine ideal and also integration and catharsis of psychospiritual energy, leading to "spiritual liberation." There also is the idea of working up the energy and maintaining an orgasmic blissful state for a prolonged period of time or of "releasing " the energy toward some intent--and also of sustaining an orgasmic state without ejaculation with the intention of integrating and resorbing the energy into oneself.

Answer 7

Well, Kama Sutra was used to reach an elevated level with the Gods back in ancient India. It was belived that by reaching a certain level of difficulty you got closer to certain Gods. The more difficult the more elevated you were. And also they believed that women were the way by which men were able to get closer to the higher powers.

Answer 8

It is the center of modern Thelema, Neopaganism as well as ancient Hindu Kama Sutra.

Answer 9

magick is used in the Wiccan religion...but i've never heard of sex magick.

Answer 10

It has been surmised that Aleister Crowley used this type of magic in several of the rituals in various orders to which he belonged. No can know for cetian unless they were there though.